5th Column
Satellite on reverse orbit
View(s):My Dear Satellite,
I thought of writing to you when I heard that you were among those who had attended a meeting calling for the abolition of the Executive Presidency — which was an essential component of JR’s ‘bahubootha vyavasthaawa’ as you used to call it those days.
I didn’t know whether I should laugh or cry when I saw photographs of you seated alongside Uncle Ranil, Sampanthan seeya and the General at the meeting where the call to abolish the Executive Presidency was made, so I thought I should write to you to try and clarify matters.
If memory serves me right, Satellite, you first campaigned to become President with a firm pledge to abolish the Presidency within six months. You even set a deadline by which date you would abolish the office. Based on that promise, the rathu sahodarayas withdrew their candidate from the elections.
With your charismatic smile and your clean record, having been the wife of a heartthrob and having dared to defy your family by forming a separate political party with your husband, victory was assured. You didn’t even have to promise us that you would abolish the Executive Presidency.
You did, anyway. At that time, people believed you because you were young, charming and of course, came from the ‘right’ family. So, they adored you. And they gave you an overwhelming mandate to do what you promised-but you didn’t.
Despite your many broken promises and the rather inefficient style of government of your PA administration — which, some said, stood for ‘Parakkui Araakkui’ — you went before the people once again in five years, asking for their vote.
I believe you would have lost that vote if Velupillai did not try to assassinate you at your last rally at Town Hall. It was not difficult to feel sorry for you because both your father and your husband had lost their lives on their doorsteps and you had nearly lost yours too.
You managed to turn adversity to advantage, speaking to the nation just after you had lost an eye and Sri Lankans being the emotional people that they are voted for you once again, forgetting about your broken promises and poor record in government.
Then there was that brief period when people like SB and GL rebelled against you and left you to join Uncle Ranil. That forced you to use the powers of the Presidency to the maximum, even forming a ‘probationary’ government with the Reds.
That didn’t last too long and I don’t blame you because it must have been difficult to do business with the party that plotted and killed your husband. That meant another round of elections and it was no surprise that the Greens were then returned to power and you became a ‘lame duck’ President.
At that time, Satellite, you didn’t sit around doing nothing except smiling for the cameras just like what Dearly Beloved did when he was President and you were Prime Minister. Again, you went about using — and some would say abusing — the powers of the Presidency to the maximum.
Do you remember how you refused to swear in SB as a minister simply because you had a personal grudge against him? Do you also remember, Satellite, how you waited until Uncle Ranil went overseas to take over three key ministries and undermine his government?
Do you also recall that on that occasion, the person who tipped off Uncle Ranil was none other than your late brother, who despite his many faults, was a thorough gentleman and obviously didn’t think that blood was thicker than water.
At that time, Satellite, you didn’t have any reservations about using the powers of the Executive Presidency to the maximum to eventually bring down Uncle Ranil’s government by arbitrarily dissolving Parliament and calling for elections before they were due. This you did after giving a solemn pledge to parliament that you would not dissolve it as long as Uncle Ranil’s party had the majority.
Even after the Blues were returned to power, Satellite, you wanted to stay on the Presidential chair for one more year than you should have and you nearly got your way, until Sarath, with a little nudge from Mahinda maama perhaps, decided that enough was enough and said you should go.
Of course we realise that Mahinda maama did much the same thing. His Mahinda Chinthanaya also promised to abolish the Executive Presidency but instead he went one step further than even you did, removing the limit on the number of terms an individual could serve as President!
Now there is a lot of kasu kusu about a ‘common’ candidate and because Mahinda maama changed the laws, you too can again run again for President. I sincerely hope you don’t, Satellite, because it will be worse than Sanath returning to cricket after retirement because our team is not playing well!
Yours truly,
Punchi Putha
PS: I remember JR’s old saying that all an Executive President couldn’t do was to turn a man into a woman. I suppose Mahinda maama did that too, turning the Chief Justice who was a lady into a man who is not much of gentleman, overnight!